Expert / Sr. Specialist Planning

Job title

Expert / Sr. Specialist Planning

Grade

Stream

OQRPI

Function

Commercial RPI- Asset Planning \& Optimization - Planning \& Performance

Location

Oman - Muscat

Budget control

Reporting to

Manager Planning \& Performance

Direct reports

Job purposeConsolidate Asset plan initiatives and support the delivering of planned production \& profitability across RPI assets by working alongside with the Commercial \& Downstream team to deliver the optimum production plan for the RPI \& Plastic assets using direction from the Asset Production Management plan.

The position will act in accordance with the Group’s Mission, Vision, Values \& Strategies, as well as, policies, guidelines, and standards, supported by IT Technology platform, HSE standards, Omani’s government \& other legal justifications, and best international practices in consonance with national objectives.

Main tasks and responsibilities

• Lead the consolidation and input planning data supply, analyze these data, identify deviations, and communicate these deviations.
• Deliver the monthly RPI \& Plastic’s plan that optimize/maximize the gross margin using the LP (Linear Programming: PIMS) model.
• Communicate the output of the RPI \& Plastic’s plan to the stakeholder after getting the required approval.
• Evaluate and communicate marginal economic drivers and conduct medium-term scenario and different studies for new projects (1 month to 3 years) to support value-driven decision-making and optimize performance across supply, refining, petrochemicals, logistics, and sales
• Update procedures as needed to reflect ongoing organizational improvements and evolving best practices.
• Work with commercial teams on crude and feedstock selection and product dispatch optimization.
• Conduct scenario analysis to assess the impact of operational changes, unit turnarounds, or market shifts.
• Perform LP model runs to evaluate scenarios, margin optimization, and feedstock/product blending strategies.
• Ensure planning inputs and outputs are aligned with corporate reporting and performance metrics (e.g., GRM, F\&L%).
• Execute KPIs with respect to the performance management process.
• Identify bottlenecks and suboptimal operation and provides recommendations for overcoming them.
• Monitor market trends and capitalize on medium-term opportunities to maximize business value and enhance profitability
• Provide economic direction and planning recommendations to Plant/Lifting Schedulers from monthly planning and during significant changes in plant conditions, ensuring optimal production decisions aligned with business objectives and market economics

Key interactions Internal: Commercial RPI - OMT - OQM External: Specialized Contractors, Vendors \& Suppliers.

Notable Working Conditions. Office environment, intensive computer screen use, sporadic visits to operation site.

Education requirements

Minimum of bachelor’s degree in engineering / business / finance or similar (required)

Language requirementsExcellent knowledge of written, read, and spoken English (required) Arabic - Native (desirable)

Background \& Experience

Competencies and skills

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Plus 6 years of relevant experience in refining, petrochemicals, integrated planning, optimization, supply, or oil trading.
• Proven experience in similar planning, scheduling, economics, optimization, or commercial planning role within the refining and petrochemicals industry.
• Experience of using Linear Programing based optimization model (ex, AspenTech PIMS, Haverly planning tool, etc) is mandatory.
• Strong understanding of refinery operations, crude-to-products value chains, and petrochemical integration.
• Familiarity with crude oil and petroleum product trading concepts, market arbitrage opportunities, and margin optimization.
• Experience in conducting scenario analysis and developing short-, medium-, and long-term planning studies.
• Experience in performance management frameworks, KPI development, monitoring, and reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to translate economic insights into actionable operational recommendations.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to effectively convey complex economic and technical information to diverse stakeholders.

Soft: * Lead others by example * Persuasive Communicate at various corporate levels * Ability to work across different functions. * Dealing with diversity and multicultural cultural background * Leadership and ability to influence cross-functional teams. * Negotiation and decision-making capabilities. * Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset. * Results-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset

Technical:

• Computer literacy including MS Office
• Downstream and specialty chemicals business management
• Hydrocarbon and petrochemical value chain management
• Planning/optimization and performance management
• Strong knowledge of hydrocarbon, refining, and petrochemical value chains.